Punch press



v1.. A; LUTHER.'

PUNCH PRESS. .APPucATlolr FILED MYAY r. 1 920.

y v 1,428,175. Patntedsept. 5, 1922-.

lwento; John A. Lumbar Patented Septn 5, 1922 JOHN A. LUTHER, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK.

runen rnnssj Application filed Mayl, lSerial No. 378,313.`

Vication. .A A The present invention relates toY punch presses and particularly to a die structure,

for such presses, and has for its objectto` .,positing `the same .ing from holder 17 Ais ak threader provided an improved structure and arrangement `for performing a certain type'of oper! ation as will be pointed out hereinafter.

For a considerationof what I believe tobe novel and my invention, attention is di rected to the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto. e

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a. vertical sectional. view through upper and lower. die struc-A tures embodying my invention; F ig. 2Vis -a bottom plan view of the upper die structure; Fig. 3 is a detail'view ofy a part of the upper die structure, Figs. 4, 5 and 6 areA detail views, and Fig. 7 showsy the dies arranged in a punch press. u ,K In the present instance my invention yis embodied in a die structure for cutting or stamping a washer from fibrous or similar material, such as asbestos, for example, and depositing `such washer in the, annularl groove ofaring U-shaped in cross section, the same being a stepina process for vmanufacturing gaskets 4such as are used in connection with spark plugs. Referring. to the .dra-wing, Figs. 4, 5 and 6, 10 indicates a ring U-shaped incrossY sectionV and` formed from a suitable metal such as copper, and the specific embodimentfof my invention ilustrated is a die structure for printing 0r 'stamping a washer from'a sheet of fibrous material- 11,. preferably, asbestos, and deinthe' ,ll-shaped ring 12 indicating the asbestos as shown in Fig. washer in the ring. j

The lower'die structure, which 1s stationary, comprises a. shoe 14 adapted Ito be fastened to the bed plate of a'l punch press of usual construction. At the centerot Ashoe 14 is a hole 15 counterbored to form a recess 16 inwhich is located'fa holder 17 having a central lopening18counterbored to form an annular shoulder 19. Projectflange 2O against the end of which is iXedan outer ldie v member ,21, same being 'held' in 'place county of Schenectady.. have invented certain' y by a flanged nut 22 which threads onto the end of flange 20. Located .in '.the counterbored portion of openingj18 and resting against annular shoulder 19 is a head 23y from which projects an inner die member 24 located centrally of outer die member'21. Inner die ine'mberl 24 isa solid post and is held in position 'by a stud 25 which projectsl down through opening 18 and has a nut 26.

. on its end which screws up against the bottom of. shoe 14. Located in the annular space between die members 21 and 24 is an ejector ring 27 having a head 28 with which engage the, upper ends'of a number of ejector pins 29.; threefor example. Ejector'pins 29 ei;-l tend down.` through openings in holder 17 and shoe`14 and at theirlower ends areeonnected to a plate 30 against the under side of which bears the upper end of a spring 31.- The lower end of spring 31 rests on a cross bar A32 carried by posts 33 which depend from shoe 14 andthe 'pressure of the spring 'en the bottom of .plate 30 may be adjusted ,byvvineans` o f'boltv 34'.inan obvious manner. Ejector ring '27 has internal and external 'diameters equal to those of the ring 10 and its upper end has arounded recess offa. shape to receive the bottom .of aring 10. l The upper die structure comprises a holdV er 35'having. an'aXially extending opening 36 counterbored at its upperV end tov form Ia recess. 37. ,Fi'Xedtothe` lower `end of holder is an lannularfdie member39, the interior of which provides "a recess 38. In

recess 38,v is a plunger 40v towhich is conynected a rod L t1-which entends up through opening 36 to a point-beyond'fholder 35.v Qn the upper endtofrod 41 is ai head 42 'and ingrecess 37 is a spring`43 which yat one ,end engages head 42 ,and atthe otherend the bottom of recess 37. At its central portion holder 35 is threaded tol receive collar 44 jwhich serves tofasten die member 39 to thevholder. Surrounding wall 39 below collar'44is'a supporting member orl holder45 which may slidevupland down on wall 39. Supporting member 45 is `oi" substantially goove Y short of the right hand side of member 45 and has an lopening 48 oi" `slightly greater diameter than the end of wall or die member39. Groove 46 is of la `width slightly greater'than the diameter of die member39and isj'ofa depthequal lto v the thickness of the strip of material from which washers are to be cut or stamped.` At the right hand end of groove 46 is a p rojection 49 which forms a stop. Supporting member 45 and plunger 40 are connected together by a pin 50 which extends entirely through them, wall 39 being provided with slots 51 on opposite sides through which the pin passes. Supporting member 45 and plunger 40 thus move as a unit on wall 39 and are limited in their downward movement by the lower ends ot slots 5l and in their upward movement by collar 44. ln a recess in plunger 40 is a small spring pressed ejector pin 52 shown in detail in 3.`

l ln operation, the dies are placed 1n a punch press of usual construction, as lshown in Fig. 7, the lower die structure having its shoe 14 bolted to the bed plate A of the press, and the holder 35 oi the upper die structure being fixed to the reciprocating head B of the press. The press is provided with the usual stop or abutment, usually termed the knock-out lever, and indicated by thel line 53 in Fig. l, which at the upper portion of the strokes holds plunger 40 and supporting member 45 down in their lowermost positions as shown in Fig. l, pin 50 being; at the bottoms oi slots 51 and plunger 40 being flush with the lower end ot die member 39. Fig. 7 illustrates a conventional orm ot knock-out lever comprising a pivoted lined adjustable abutment 55. A ring 10, U-shaped in cross section, is placed on the lower die structure with its rounded bottom resting in the groove in ejector ring 27 and its open side facing upward. A strip of brous material 1l, for example, asbestos, is slipped into groove 46 until its end strikes stop 49, the strip being held up by cover plate 4T. `When thev die structures come together, plunger'40 and lower die member24 which areof the saine diameter, engage between them a disk of the asbestos` strip and cover plate 47 engages outer die member 2l. At this time head 42 on rod4l has moved away from abutment 53. i. e., from the end of knock-out lever 54', Fig. 7, so said lever is no longer held against abutment 55 but die parts 40 and 45 cannot move relatively to die member 39 because of the asbestos strip ll. Holder 35, however, continues to move with the result that die member 39 co-operating with the edges of U-shaped ring l() cuts a washer from strip ll `and forces it do-wn into the bottom of the ring as shown in Fig. 6. At this time the end et die member 39 enters between the two walls of ring `l() the sides of the ring being supported betweenv theadj acent walls of die members 2l and 24. The washer cut from strip l1 is thus pushed down to the bottom oi ll-shaped ring 10, ejector ring 2,7 yielding downwardly somewhat after the bottom is arm 54 which engages van upper` reached. lt will be noted that when the die structures come together, the portion of strip ll on the inside of die member 39 is clamped between parts 24 and 40V of the die structures bel-ore the cutting or punching operation begins. The strip of material is thus firmly held during this operation. The die structures now move apart whereupon spring 3l moves ejector ring 27 up to iorce ring l0 with the washer l2 therein as shown in Fig. 6, oit the lower die structure. At the same time spring pressed ejector pin 52 and plunger 40 knock the disk cut 'from the center of washer l2 out 'from within die member 39, the parts of the upper die structure assuming again the position shown' in Fig. l. Another U-shaped ring l0 is then placed onv the lower` die structure and the strip 1l is pushed along groove 46 until its end strikes stop 49. rlhe operation of the die structures is then repeated'. As is well understood, the die structures stand at an angle to the horizontal in. the punch press so that the parts punched out fall from between them by gravity. rllie operation can accordingly be made continuous, the operator on each stroke of the punch press feeding forward the strip ll and placing a new ring 10 on the die structure. Ui: course, it desired both the rings l0 and the strip 1l or yeither of them may be fed to the press automatically.

ln. connection with the die structure it is to be noted that the edges of the ring 10, which edges are quite sharp, serve in cutting out 4the libre washers from strip 1l, the edges of the ring `co-operating with die member 39.

lrleretoiore, so 'tar as l am aware, in the manuiaiirture oiE the asbestos washers have been placed in the lll-shaped ring by hand. rthis has been a veri1 tedious and coniparatively expensive method and entailed considerable waste. By my invention l am enabled to perform thisv workin a punch press and at a very rapid rate thereby materially reducing the cost olf manufacture. n y

lt will be understood, oli course, that my invention is not necessarily limited to op-l erations carried on in connection with washers but may be appliedwherever. similar operations are to be performed and wherever it may be found applicable.

ln accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, l'have described the principle of operation ot my invention, together with the apparatus which l now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but l des-ire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

lhat l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. ln combination, a stationary die strucgaskets of this character,

llt

ture adapted to receive a piece to be worked upon, said piece having upwardly facing edges, a movable die structure having a die member, and supporting means forming a part of said movable die structure for carrying a. piece of material from which a part is to be cut by said'die member and deposited between said upwardly facing edges.

2. In combination, a stationary die structure having a yielding ejector member adapted to receive a piece to be worked upon, said piece having upwardly facing edges, a movable die structure having a die member, and means for supporting a strip of material between said die structure from which a part is to be cut by said movable die member and the edges of said piece and deposited between said upwardly facing edges.

3. In combination, a stationary die structure having a yielding ejector member adapted to receive a piece to be worked upon, said piece having upwardly facing edges, .a movable die structure having a die memb-er, and a supporting member forming a part of the movable die structure and having a groove for holding the end of a strip of material directly under said die member, said movable die member co-operating with the edges of said piece to be worked upon to out a part from said strip and deposit it between such edges.

4:. In combination, a stationary die structure having a yielding ejectorv member adapted to receive a piece to be worked upon, said piece having upwardly facing edges, a movable die structure having a die member, a supporting member forming a part of the movable die structure and having a groove for holding the end of a strip of material directly under said die member, said movable die member co-operating with the vedges of said piece to be worked upon to cut a part from said strip and deposit it between such edges, and means forming part of the die structure for clamping the strip during the cutting operation.

5. In combination, a die structure comprising an annular ring, adapted to support a ring U-shaped in cross section, a second die structure comprising an annular die member of the same size as the U-shaped ring, a supporting member for holding a piece of material under said annular die member, and means forming parts of the die structure for clamping between them' the portion of said piece of material which lies inside the inner edge of said die member,

said die member co-operating with the edges l and adapted to hold a strip of material be- Vneath it, said inner die member and plunger holding said strip between them when the dies come together member co-operating with the edges of said U-shaped ring to cut a washer from said strip, the end of said annuular die memand said annular diek ber entering the space between the walls of said U-shaped ring to deposit such washer against the bottom of the ring. j

7. In combination, va pair of relatively movable die structures one of `which is adapted to lreceive a piece to be worked upon, said piece having upwardly facing edges, and the other of which has a die member, and means for supporting a strip of material between said die structures, the die member co-operating with the edges of said piece to cut a part lfrom the strip and deposit it between such edges.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 30 day of April, 1920.

JOI-IN A. LUTHER. 

